76 per cent of Germans consider physicians among the top five professions
76 per cent of Germans consider physicians among the top five professions
For decades now the Institut für Demoskopie Allensbach has at regular intervals polled the esteem in which the population holds certain professions. Once again, the profession of medical doctors emerges uncontested winner at the top of the professional prestige scale: 76 per cent of Germans consider physicians among the top five professions that they hold in highest regard. Second place again goes to nurses at 63 per cent. Third place went to the police, who scored 49 per cent on the recognition ratings, followed by teachers at 41 per cent and craftsmen at 38 per cent. The tail-end of the table continued to be brought up by TV anchors (3 per cent) and bankers (3 per cent). Politicians as a profession only placed marginally better, with only six per cent of the population rating it as a profession that they held in highest regard.
Seen over the last two decades, what strikes the eye is that the standing of many professions is astonishingly stable. This applies in particular to physicians, who have for the last 20 years consistently scored values of more than 70 per cent. By contrast, there have been clear changes in the case of some professions. For example, since the early 1990s the recognition accorded university professors has tended to wane. Moreover, albeit over a longer period, the esteem in which lawyers are held has also decreased.
Source: ifd-allensbach.de; photo: dpa/pa.
